Limited runs and special events:
@ Big Wig, 1551 W. Division, (773) 235-9100: Ho’ly Night at the 4th monthly Pleasure Play Party to benefit Dominatrix Waitrix – Dec. 14
@ Facets, 1517 W Fullerton, (800) 532-2387: Facets Film School winter courses on the films of Pedro Almodovar (Dec. 10 – Dec. 17) and Marlene Dietrich (Dec. 10 – Dec. 18)
@ Gerber/Hart Library, 1127 W. Granville, (773) 381-8030: Queersploitation—monthly series viewing and examining the treatment of homosexuality in some exploitation films of the ’70s and ’80s. Score – Dec. 11; Vampyr Lesbos – Jan. 8; Thundercrack – Feb. 12.
@ Navy Pier IMAX Theatre, (312) 595-5MAX (5629): Santa vs. the Snowman 3D – LGBT moms, dads, aunts, uncles and others looking for a holiday movie experience that can be enjoyed by viewers young and old, need look no further than the clever and colorful Santa Vs. The Snowman. Santa (voiced by Jonathan Winters) tells the story of the Christmas that almost wasn’t which involves a lonely snowman, a stolen flute, and a newfound friendship. The 3D effects are spectacular, particularly in the scenes in the elves workshop and also in the Star Wars-like battle scenes (really!). This collaboration between writer/director John Davis and the multi-talented Steve Oedekerk has the potential to become a holiday classic for all sorts of families. (B) – Through Jan. 4; Young Black Stallion – Dec. 25-March 18
In theaters:
Big Fish (Columbia) – A dying father, Edward (Albert Finney), with a penchant for hyperbole and telling the tallest of tales, and a son, William (Billy Crudup), who feels like he doesn’t really know his father, attempt to heal old wounds in Tim Burton’s movie adaptation of Daniel Wallace’s novel. William’s attempt to separate the man from the myth and fact from fiction is complicated by Edward’s insistence that all of his stories from his youth (the young Edward is portrayed by Ewan McGregor) are true and William’s mother Sandy (Jessica Lange) is of no help. Edward’s fantastic and whimsical, if a bit dark, reminiscences are pure Tim Burton, but the dramatic scenes, which achieve their own potency, suffer in retrospect. I found myself wanting the director to choose one or the other. The supporting cast, which includes Allison Lohman (as young Sandy), Matthew McGory (as Carl the giant), Loudon Wainwright (as Beamen, a resident of the afterlife town of Spectre), and Helena Bonham Carter (as Jenny), all add something. However, the message about being a big fish in a small pond just didn’t hold water. (C+)
Girl With A Pearl Earring (Lion’s Gate) – Griet (Scarlett Johansson in another notable performance), a teenage girl, living with her family in Delft, Holland in 1665 is sent off to work as a maid for the painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), when her parents are no longer able to support her, in the movie adaptation of Tracy Chevalier’s novel of the same name. Griet walks into a virtual hornets’ nest where Vermeer’s jealous and suspicious wife Catharina (Essie Davis), Catharina’s mother Maria (Judy Parfitt) and the Vermeer’s daughter Cornelia (Alakina Mann), conspire to make life extremely difficult for the dutiful maid. Griet does form a tenuous friendship with maid Tanneke (Judith Scanlan) and is courted rigorously by the butcher’s handsome son Pieter (Cillian Murphy), but her life is further complicated by Vermeer’s sexually aggressive and despicable patron Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson). The most radiant moments occur during the interactions between Griet and Vermeer, leading her to become the subject of one of the painter’s most famous works. Director Peter Webber takes careful pains to make the movie, a fictionalized imagining of the origin of the titular painting, look like a live action canvas and the film is a visual delight. (B)
Honey (Universal) – When she’s not selling CDs and DVDs at Crazy Louie’s, slinging drinks behind the bar or dominating the dance-floor at the nightclub, 22-year-old Honey (Jessica Alba) is giving hip-hop dance lessons at the Hunts Point Youth Center in the Bronx neighborhood where she lives with her mother (Lonette McKee) and father (Anthony Sherwood). Her mother, who also works at the Youth Center, has big dreams for her graceful daughter, which includes teaching ballet uptown. After big-time video director Michael (David Moscow) sees a video of Honey dancing, he offers her a job in one of his hip-hop music videos. Before you can say ball-change, Honey is elevated to choreographer, neglecting best friend Gina (Joy Bryant), being courted by neighborhood barber Chaz (Mekhi Phifer), and avoiding Michael’s sexual advances. However, Honey’s real mission, to open her own dance studio/school and rescue some of the troubled neighborhood kids from lives of crime, is what drives her to succeed. Like School of Rock and The Fighting Temptations, Honey is a sticky sweet completely improbably feel-good movie that ends with a big, standing-ovation earning performance. Missy Elliott’s appearance, as herself, adds a much needed sense of humor to movie that takes itself way too seriously. (D+)
Stuck On You (Twentieth Century Fox) – The Farrelly brothers take a considerable chunk out of the hand that feeds them with their latest comedy which makes a mockery of Hollywood in ways only the Farrelly Brothers could concoct. Conjoined twins Bob (Matt Damon) and Walt (Greg Kinnear), joined at the waist, leave the safety of their Martha’s Vineyard home, where they divide their time between working as short-order cooks at the Quikee Burger (Bob’s business), doing community theater (Walt’s pursuit), and playing hockey, and relocate to Hollywood so Walt can pursue his dreams of a career in the movies. Needless to say that Bob suffers from stage fright and panic attacks and Walt’s naivete and acting skills leave much to be desired. After running into Cher (yes, Cher) on a studio lot, Walt is hired to play alongside the Oscar-winning actress in a TV series she detests and hopes to bring to a screeching halt with the addition of Walt. Did I mention there are countless conjoined twins jokes? As tasteless as ever, Stuck On You offers the Farrelly brothers’ legion of fans plenty of inappropriate things at which to laugh. (C-)
On TV:
Pay-Per-View (now available): Sordid Lives; Food Of Love; Circuit; When Boys Fly; The Business of Fancy Dancing.